Non-Resident Companies Doing Business in Saudi Arabia Told to Register for VAT

Saudi General Authority for Zakat and Tax (GAZT) urges such businesses to appoint tax representatives for this purpose

Riyadh, February 8 (CIC) – The Saudi General Authority for Zakat and Tax (GAZT) has clarified that non-resident entities carrying out economic activities in the Kingdom must register for value added tax (VAT).

A statement by GZAT urged such organisations to appoint tax representatives for this purpose.

These entities “must appoint tax representatives to act on their behalf in fulfilling all tax obligations and issuing tax invoices to their customers in the Kingdom with the 5% VAT clearly mentioned”, the statement said.

According to the newly introduced VAT regulations, unregistered non-resident taxable businesses must apply for VAT within 30 days from the date of the first taxable supply in the Kingdom.

Last month, the authority sent out a reminder to all enterprises registered for VAT, whose supplies exceed SAR40 million annually, to file their tax returns each month.

Saudi Arabia introduced VAT on January 1. The 5% sales tax applies to most goods and services.